Key Takeaways
🌍 International usability testing reveals how users from different countries interact with digital products, helping to identify cultural nuances that affect user experience.
💡 Cultural differences can drastically alter how users navigate, understand symbols, and respond to design elements, making global testing crucial to avoid alienating users.
🧩 Tailoring products to local norms enhances user loyalty, ensuring the product feels natural and trustworthy across different regions.
🔍 Global usability testing helps catch design issues early, preventing costly rework after launch and improving product adaptability for diverse markets.
💼 Efficient resource allocation through international testing saves time and money by pinpointing user expectations and reducing the risk of market failure.
International usability testing allows the detection of culturally unique usability challenges. Effective and timely testing with the right tools will help you grow in a new market.
To flourish in global markets, you must go beyond only translating and localizing platforms. You must also collect direct data on how users in other countries engage with your products. While basic usability concepts apply to any country, testing with a foreign audience could show culturally specific usability problems.
What is usability testing?
Usability testing (also called usability research) is the process of testing interfaces and interaction scenarios with real users. A UX researcher (moderator or facilitator) asks a participant to perform a series of tasks (usually in a prototype of a digital product) while observing their behavior and actions.
The moderator may ask the participants to speak aloud and comment on actions. So UX researchers can understand how the person feels and thinks while using the prototype.
Hence, if you need a quick recap of what usability testing is and why it’s crucial, have a look at our video below ⬇️
What is international usability testing?
International usability testing evaluates how users from different countries and cultural backgrounds interact with a digital product, website, or app.
Unlike standard usability testing typically focusing on a specific local audience, international usability testing is about understanding diverse user experiences across different geographic and cultural contexts.
Its core goal is to uncover how people from different parts of the world engage with your product and identify any culturally provoked friction points.
🌟 Why is international usability testing important?
When growing into international markets, just translating products is insufficient. Usability is inextricably linked to cultural norms. It includes how users expect to navigate a digital product, the symbols they know, and the colors they identify with specific emotions or purposes.
International usability testing aids in the identification of culturally unique usability concerns that may not be apparent from that context.
For example, certain design features that perform well in one country may fall flat in another. A color representing trust in China might represent danger or mourning abroad. Even seemingly simple navigation patterns might be interpreted differently due to cultural preferences and expectations.
💻 How does international usability testing work?
The process involves testing your digital product with participants from the target international market – people representing the real users you’re trying to reach. It can be conducted remotely or in person.
There are multiple types of usability testing. Yet, it typically involves tasks like navigating the website, interacting with certain features, or completing common user journeys.
During international usability testing, you might work with native-speaking facilitators or use usability testing tools that support multiple languages. This ensures that the users feel comfortable and can provide honest feedback in their language.
It’s about making the test as natural as possible for participants so that you get a real sense of how they interact with your product in real life.
💡 What do you find out from international usability testing?
By running usability tests with international users, you gain insight into how different cultural contexts affect interaction with your digital product. You learn aspects like:
- Interaction preferences: Do users prefer visual icons, text explanations, or a combination? Are buttons easy to find and click in their language?
- Navigation styles: Do users expect a top-down approach to navigation, or do they prefer side menus? Are common navigation labels intuitively understood, or do they cause confusion?
- Trust signals: How do users feel about providing personal information? Is the process too complicated, or is it presented in a way that doesn’t align with their sense of privacy or trust?
This level of insight is crucial for tailoring your product to meet the specific needs and expectations of individual markets. You might find that users in Japan value more guided instructions, while users in Germany prefer efficiency and minimal information. Testing helps you understand these subtle yet crucial differences.
Advantages of international usability testing
Ultimately, international usability testing provides a clear pathway to creating products that resonate globally. It helps ensure that your product not only speaks the right language but also reflects the cultural nuances of your audience.
It can lead to higher adoption rates, reduced user frustration, and a product that feels more personal and accessible to people from around the world.
When done right, it moves you from offering a product that simply “operates” globally to one that “thrives” globally. Thanks to it you can create something that feels natural, intuitive, and enjoyable for every user, regardless of their background. And that’s what makes international usability testing so essential for companies looking to expand and succeed beyond their local market.
Reasons to conduct international usability testing
Moving to global markets entails more than just selling a product in another language.
In our Women in UX interview, Chui Chui Tan, International Growth Adviser, Culturalisation Strategy Expert highlights:
One of the most prevalent misconceptions in international business expansion is the belief that successful localization is simply a matter of translating content into local languages and adopting local currencies.
It also requires knowing the behavioral patterns and habits of those who will use it. As UX designers and product managers, you are well aware that usability is about more than simply aesthetics.
It is about ensuring that people from every aspect of life can achieve their objectives effortlessly and efficiently. When we carry that goal across borders, it brings new obstacles and huge growth opportunities.
Reduce the risk of market failure
International testing can significantly reduce the risk of failure in a foreign market. Without analyzing how users from different countries perceive the interface, it’s easy to miss important points that can negatively impact the user experience.
For example, colors that indicate positive emotions in one culture may carry the opposite meaning in another. By thoroughly testing the product on real users from different regions, you can adapt the interface so that it is understandable and intuitive anywhere in the world, thereby minimizing the risk of misunderstandings or cultural barriers.
Boost user loyalty
To create a truly successful and popular product, it is important to consider the needs of users so that they feel that the product “speaks their language”. A localized and clear interface that feels “their own” helps build trust and loyalty.
This is especially important in a competitive environment where users are choosing between multiple options. A well-conducted international usability test will help customize the product so that it is appreciated, admired, and actively used.
Efficient allocation of resources
The decision to test internationally can also save a company significant resources in the long run. Failure to understand international user needs can result in the need to make urgent changes once a product is released, which is both time-consuming and costly.
Timely testing and analysis can help identify problems early, avoiding costly rework and errors.
Product innovation
International testing encourages fresh ideas and innovative solutions. Different cultures have different ways of interacting with technology, and drawing on these experiences can create a more adaptable and unique product.
Such interaction with users stimulates the introduction of features and interface solutions that might not have emerged in an environment limited to one culture. This way, international testing helps to stay at the forefront of innovation and make a product truly versatile.
Aspects to keep in mind
When conducting international usability testing, there are several important considerations to have in mind to ensure your research yields meaningful insights and that your design is truly optimized for each cultural context.
Cultural differences
Cultural differences can dramatically affect how users perceive and interact with your product. This isn’t just about language—it’s about expectations, customs, and even emotional responses that vary from culture to culture. Colors, symbols, gestures, and even website layouts can carry different meanings.
For example, while a thumbs-up icon may be universally understood as positive in the U.S., it can have different or even offensive meanings in some cultures. Similarly, a navigation pattern that feels intuitive to users in Western countries might be seen as chaotic or confusing to users in East Asia.
Keeping cultural differences in mind while planning your usability testing means making sure your test is sensitive to these variations and doesn’t impose a local-centric perspective on international audiences.
Cultural biases
Another major consideration is cultural bias—how our own cultural background influences the design and interpretation of usability tests. Cultural bias can manifest in the assumptions we make about what users want or need, potentially leading us to miss critical nuances.
For instance, if we come from a culture that highly values individual decision-making, we might unintentionally design interfaces that prioritize personalization features that aren’t as highly valued in a more collectivist culture.
Being aware of these biases is key to conducting more objective and insightful testing. This means adapting interview questions, testing tasks, and even the criteria for success, to align with what’s culturally relevant to participants from different regions. This approach allows you to genuinely understand their needs and expectations without unintentionally pushing your cultural framework onto them.
In addition to cultural bias, you should also be aware of common types of bias in UX research, such as confirmation bias or anchoring bias.
To limit them, you can use some proven tactics from the experts mentioned in the video below:
Translation and localization
Language is the most obvious aspect of international usability testing, but simply translating content isn’t enough. Proper localization includes adapting phrases, cultural references, and even humor to fit the norms of the local culture. Direct translations can lead to clunky or confusing experiences if the subtleties of the original language don’t carry over effectively.
Consider the phrasing of a call to action: a term that sounds assertive in English might come off as pushy in another language. Localization ensures that your copy, labels, and prompts align with the tone and communication style of your target audience.
Testing should also verify the usability of localized content—does the translated copy fit well within buttons, labels, and fields? Do users find it intuitive and understandable?
Participant recruitment
Finding the perfect participants for international usability testing is an exciting challenge! While it’s not always simple, it’s also not impossible. It’s so important to make sure your participants reflect the diversity of your actual user base in that region. This means you get to consider all kinds of factors like language proficiency, comfort with technology, age, socio-economic background, and even local trends.
To make this process faster and less frustrating, we recommend using the help of specialized User Panels with global coverage or partnering with local recruiting agencies.
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Privacy and data protection
The privacy and data protection of test participants is another crucial consideration. Different countries have varying data protection laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe.
It is essential to adhere to all local and international regulations to guarantee participant privacy. DMake sure to develop a comprehensive confidentiality agreement that is transparent and clearly understood by all parties.
How to conduct international usability testing?
Conducting international usability testing is a complex but essential process that enables the creation of a successful product for users across the globe. The following section outlines the fundamental steps required to conduct testing in a culturally sensitive and specific manner for each market.
1. Identify project objections
Prior to testing, it is essential to clearly define the specific issues or potential problems that you wish to address. Objections may encompass a range of issues, from cultural nuances pertaining to the interface to the difficulty of performing tasks within the product.
Identifying these objections at the outset allows the study to be focused and the results to be more useful.
2. Participant recruitment
It is essential to recruit users with diverse backgrounds, skills, and cultural identities to ensure comprehensive identification of potential issues and barriers. Define your target audience for the testing and segment it into more specific user groups if needed.
Then, decide how you’re going to find people who meet this criteria. One of the easiest and fast ways to do this is by recruiting from a global User Panel.
In one of our customer success stories, Natalie Awdry, Lead User Researcher at Civica, explains that when she was conducting international usability testing for a library kiosk and needed participants from UK, Singapore and Australia, UXtweak’s global User Panel absolutely saved the day.
I couldn’t have done that myself. I couldn’t have recruited so many people from different countries. I absolutely needed UXtweak’s User Panel for that.
3. Choose the testing method
The choice of testing method depends on the research objectives and the specifics of the project. You can choose moderated or unmoderated testing, remote or face-to-face, and qualitative or quantitative methods.
For international testing, remote moderated testing is often recommended because it allows for cultural adaptation and deeper insights.
💡 Pro Tip
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Try UXtweak’s Live Interviews! Seamlessly schedule, recruit, conduct, and analyze all your moderated studies.
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4. Find the right tool
It is crucial to select an appropriate tool for international testing. The chosen platform should facilitate seamless interaction with users in diverse geographical locations.
It is essential to ensure that the selected tool offers support for the required languages, high availability, and seamless integration with existing tools. Potential options include video conferencing platforms with recording capabilities or specialized UX tools for behavioral analysis.
It’s even better to have all the tools you need within one platform. The good news is – you can conduct all types of usability tests with UXtweak.
Moderated, unmoderated, prototypes, apps, or live websites – you name it. Learn more about our features or go on and try it yourself!
5. Localize the study
Translate the test scripts and questionnaire into languages appropriate for the countries in which the study will be conducted. The translation should be culturally sensitive, using not only grammatically correct phrases but also appropriate terms.
Localization also includes adapting the interface so that it is intuitive for users. You may want to hire a localization expert to help you with this.
6. Pilot test to avoid cultural bias
Before the main test, conduct pilot tests with a small group of participants to identify potential cultural biases or misunderstandings. This will help you adjust the script and approach, and ensure that the main test runs more smoothly and efficiently.
7. Conduct usability testing
Conducting baseline testing is an important step in observing how users interact with your product. Observe their reactions, task understanding, and difficulties. This process will help identify cultural differences that affect the perception and use of the product.
8. Analyze results with cultural differences in mind
When analyzing the data collected during testing, be sure to take cultural differences into account. The same behavior may have different meanings in different cultures, and what may be perceived as a problem in one country may be the norm in another.
This approach will help you gain a deeper understanding of how your product is perceived in different countries and adapt it for global success.
9. Write a report
After testing, compile all the information into a clear and accessible report that will be useful to stakeholders. Your report should include key findings, recommendations, and next steps for adapting the product to selected markets based on your international testing insights.
Pro Tip: A good UX research report can make all the difference when it comes to engaging stakeholders in your research. Don’t miss our top tips! ⬇️
Tips for successful international usability testing
Work with local experts
Local experts can help you take into account cultural sensitivities and adapt the interface to regional specifics, which will significantly increase the accuracy of the results.
Use mobile usability tools
Conduct testing on mobile devices, taking into account cultural differences in the use of gestures and text input. This will help identify localized patterns of interaction with the mobile interface.
Offer appropriate incentives
Select rewards that will appeal to participants in each region. This will ensure high levels of engagement and quality test results.
Use visuals
Visual elements such as icons and infographics help make the interface more versatile and understandable. Make sure the images used are appropriate for all cultures.
Companies successfully conducting international usability testing
Spotify
Spotify regularly conducts international usability testing to tailor its product for users around the world. The company takes into account cultural preferences for music, interface language, and navigation habits to create a personalized experience for each market, from Europe to Asia to Latin America.
Airbnb
Airbnb actively uses international testing to improve usability and provide the best user experience in different countries. They work with local experts and conduct research to understand how different cultures interact with their platform. This allows Airbnb to adjust payment systems, search filters, and even language localization to make the booking experience as seamless as possible.
Google conducts extensive international testing of its products, such as Google Maps and Google Search, to ensure they are accessible and user-friendly for all users. They adapt interfaces and features according to cultural contexts and local habits, which helps them ensure usability for people with different levels of digital literacy and cultural backgrounds.
Wrapping up
Conducting international usability testing is a great way to make sure your product is intuitive and easy to use for users from different countries. It just requires a little bit of preparation and the right participants. And it’s so important to understand cultural differences, too! Following these steps will help your product stand out in the global marketplace.
